Scottish Executive

Arts

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it, the Scottish Arts Council or the British Council provide for Scottish artists or performing groups exhibiting or performing abroad.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: Working in partnership is vital in promoting Scotland abroad. In the last few years the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Arts Council and the British Council Scotland have collaborated on a number of high-profile promotions of Scotland’s art, artists and designer/makers, including a major programme of contemporary Scottish culture at the Smithsonian Institution’s 2003 Folklife Festival in Washington DC and Scotland’s first independent presentation at the 2003 Venice Biennale. The British Council Scotland and Scottish Arts Council have contributed to the Executive’s programme of international promotions, including "Scotland in Sweden" in 2002 and played a full part in this year’s successful Entente Cordiale 100th anniversary celebrations in France.

  In 2003 the Scottish Arts Council funded 247 international projects totalling over £977,000. Projects ranged from major showcases to support for individual artists to allow them to work, exhibit or collaborate with artists abroad. Scottish Arts Council core-funding has enabled organisations across Scotland to produce works of world-class standard, which has led to many Scottish companies, such as Dundee Rep theatre company and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, to be invited to perform abroad.

  Following these successful collaborations the Scottish Arts Council and British Council Scotland have recently joined forces to create the post of Head of International Arts. The post is jointly funded and managed by both organisations and will be responsible for developing a strategy for promoting Scotland’s arts abroad.

Arts

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to set a pay structure for visual and applied artists which would provide a minimum hourly rate for work carried out under contract to a public authority.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: Responsibility for employment matters, including rates of pay, is reserved to the UK Government. Notwithstanding this, Executive guidance relating to cultural provision has been given to local authorities advocating compliance with existing National Wage Agreements. In addition, the Scottish Arts Council grants application process ensures, wherever possible, similar compliance with agreed national rates and pay guidelines for visual artists.

Autism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what different types of assessment are used to diagnose autism in each NHS board; how many of these types of assessment are recognised by clinical psychologists, and whether it has any plans to standardise the assessment process across all NHS boards.

Rhona Brankin: The first national audit of services for people with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in 2003 identified existing service provision, gaps and provided a basis for future planning. The statistical report of the audit findings can be found at http://sh45inta/Resource/Doc/1095/0001881.pdf. Information about diagnostic tools is provided at question 15, page 37. Some tools are given professional recognition, while others are not. The ASD Reference Diagnosis sub-group is currently considering training that would encourage standardisation of practice.

Carers

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many recorded assaults there have been on care workers in residential care homes in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Rhona Brankin: This information is not held centrally.

Carers

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of assault have been reported to the Care Commission in each year since its inception, broken down by local authority area.

Rhona Brankin: The Care Commission operates a complaints procedure approved by Scottish ministers under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. It does not separately identify complaints alleging assaults.

  It would be for the police to investigate cases of physical assault reported to them. If such an assault is reported in a regulated care service, the Care Commission will consider what action to take, both during any police investigation and after it has been concluded.

  The total numbers of complaints each year, by Care Commission regional office, were as follows:

  

Care Commission Region
2002-03
2003-04
April - September 2004 (Provisional)


Central West
229
297
126


Central East
211
350
251


North
115
162
90


South West
175
247
125


South East
126
252
149


Total
858
1,308
741

Carers

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4826 by Mr Tom McCabe on 8 January 2004, how many of the young carers have received an assessment of their ability to care, broken down by local authority area.

Rhona Brankin: From January 2005 local authorities are being requested for the first time to report on the number of carers’ assessments being carried out annually. This will include the number carried out for young carers.

Carers

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many carers there are in each local authority area aged 18 or over.

Rhona Brankin: The 2001 Census asked questions on carers for the first time. The following table sets out the numbers of carers aged 18 and over, for each individual local authority, as identified in the Census.

  Numbers of Carers Aged Over 18 by Local Authority Area

  

Local Authority
Number of Carers Over 18


Aberdeen City
16,204


Aberdeenshire
16,365


Angus
9,182


Argyll and Bute
8,080


Scottish Borders
8,866


Clackmannanshire
4,603


West Dunbartonshire
9,459


Dumfries and Galloway
13,531


Dundee City
13,407


East Ayrshire
11,942


East Dunbartonshire
11,203


East Lothian
8,567


East Renfrewshire
8,915


Edinburgh, City of
37,492


Falkirk
14,371


Fife
32,525


Glasgow City
54,091


Highland
17,722


Inverclyde
7,909


Midlothian
7,895


Moray
6,490


North Ayrshire
12,942


North Lanarkshire
31,980


Orkney Islands
1,634


Perth and Kinross
11,680


Renfrewshire
17,397


Shetland Islands
1,875


South Ayrshire
11,025


South Lanarkshire
30,773


Stirling
7,804


West Lothian
14,597


Eilean Siar
2,707


Scotland Total 
463,233

Carers

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many carers aged 18 or over have received an assessment of their ability to care, broken down by local authority area.

Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answer to S2W-11758, on 9 November 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Carers

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are being cared for by voluntary carers in each local authority area.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people being cared for by voluntary carers have had a needs assessment, broken down by local authority area.

Rhona Brankin: This precise information is not available. Several of the key components, however are and work is in hand to improve our understanding of the situation.

  Audit Scotland currently collect annual information on the number of community care assessments and the number of people receiving a community care service. This is published on the Audit Scotland website at: http://www.accounts-commission.gov.uk/performance/documents/2003Report/servicespdf/SW.pdf.

  Information on the number of carers is given in the answers to S2W-11759 answered on 9 November 2004 and S2W-4826 answered on 8 January 2004.All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  From January 2005 local authorities are being required for the first time to record the numbers of carers’ assessments being carried out annually.

  Under our eCare programme we are working with local authorities and NHS boards to improve their IT based processes and the sharing of data collected by these agencies in relation to community care service users and their carers. One of the benefits of improved information sharing will be to bring information on users and carers closer together. This should enable us, over time, to establish a clearer picture of how many service users are being looked after by a voluntary carer, or indeed multiple carers, and the number of assessments being carried out for those carers.

Carers

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people being cared for, and who have been assessed, have been offered direct payments and, of these, how many have taken up the offer, broken down by local authority area.

Rhona Brankin: The following table gives the number of recipients of direct payments, by local authority area. We do not hold data on the numbers assessed for or offered payments.

  Direct Payments Recipients, Year to 31 March 2004

  

Local Authority
Number of Recipients


Aberdeen City
40


Aberdeenshire
19


Angus
32


Argyll and Bute
29


Clackmannanshire
23


Dumfries and Galloway
39


Dundee City
9


East Ayrshire
25


East Dunbartonshire
1


East Lothian
13


East Renfrewshire
2


Edinburgh
120


Eilean Siar
4


Falkirk
19


Fife
190


Glasgow
26


Highland
55


Inverclyde
0


Midlothian
4


Moray
17


North Ayrshire
19


North Lanarkshire
18


Orkney
16


Perth and Kinross
20


Renfrewshire
7


Scottish Borders
87


Shetland Islands
4


South Ayrshire
32


South Lanarkshire
4


Stirling
8


West Dunbartonshire
13


West Lothian
17


Scotland
912



  Source: SEHD annual survey of direct payments.

Children (Scotland) Act 1995

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a child, whose parent is using a direct payment to purchase a short break for the child, would be regarded as "looked after" under section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Euan Robson: A child is not regarded as looked after when their parent purchases a respite placement using direct payments.

Children's Services

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change the criteria for allocating funds from the Changing Children’s Services Fund and, if so, whether it will consider the level of referrals for placement by children's panels as a factor.

Peter Peacock: The 2005-06 allocations for the Changing Children’s Services Fund were announced in 2003. From 2006-07 the fund will be progressively re-aligned towards on-going frontline delivery of improved children’s services through transfer to local authority Grant Aided Expenditure. Any changes to distribution arrangements will be agreed with COSLA and any local authority wanting to make representations as to changes should do so to COSLA in the first instance.

Civil Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the comments made by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10410), what changes have been made in its relationship with the UK home civil service to indicate its conversion from a government department to a devolved government.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Civil Service remains a reserved matter, although the Civil Service Code makes it clear that civil servants in the devolved administrations owe their loyalty to those administrations rather than to the UK Government. This means that the efforts, skills and energy of departmental officials are directed towards the delivery of the Scottish Programme for Government designed to benefit the people of Scotland. It also means that whilst staff in the Executive are participants in the wider civil service reform agenda, we are also able to introduce reform and training programmes that are peculiar to Scottish dimension and which equip the staff to deal with the demands of supporting a Scottish administration. The policies that the staff of the Executive are required to implement are those of the Executive not Westminster.

Community Care

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what performance indicators are in place to monitor the uptake of direct payments, broken down by eligible community care group.

Rhona Brankin: There are no performance indicators in place to monitor the uptake of direct payments. Consideration is being given to introducing these for direct payments in 2005-06.

Education

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10738 by Peter Peacock on 29 September 2004, what percentage of class sizes in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools is above the national average.

Peter Peacock: In September 2003, 57% of primary classes were above the national average of 23.7. Ninety-nine per cent of all primary classes were at or below the recommended class size maximum. For secondary, information is only available for S1/S2 maths and English classes and that is set out in the table:

  

 
National Average
% of Classes Above National Average
Class Size Maxima
% of Classes at or Below the Class Size Maximum


S1 Maths
25.6
60%
33
99.7


S2 Maths
25.3
58%
33
99.8


Maths Composites*
23.5
75%
25
25


S1 English
26.2
54%
33
100


S2 English
25.7
61%
33
100


English Composites**
20.7
67%
25
33.3



  Notes:

  *There were 4 S1/S2 maths composite classes in Scotland.

  **There were 3 S1/S2 English composite classes in Scotland.

  The data was collected as part of the September 2003 school census. Class related data for other secondary stages or subjects was not collected and is not held centrally.

Education

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils sat modern languages at (a) standard grade and (b) higher level in each year since 1999, broken down by subject and expressed as a percentage of the year group.

Peter Peacock: A document has been lodged with the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34588) showing the number of pupils sitting Modern Language courses at the various National Qualification levels between 1999 and 2004. The information covers pupils from S4 to S6 at all publicly funded secondary schools and, as requested, has been broken down by subject and expressed as a percentage of the year group.

Electricity

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of its responsibilities for granting consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, it will place a copy of the "Holford Rules", which govern the transmission of electricity by overhead lines, in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Allan Wilson: The "Holford Rules" are a series of planning guidelines first developed in 1959 by Lord Holford adviser to the then Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) on amenity issues. They were reviewed in the 1990s by the National Grid Company (NGC). So far as the Executive is aware the rules are not published as a single work but they are referred to in a number of planning publications including Visual Amenity Aspects of High Voltage Transmission by George A. Goulty (1989) and Planning Overhead Power Line Routes by RJB Carruthers (1987) Research Studies Press Ltd, Letchworth.

  The Holford Rules are:

  Avoid altogether, if possible, the major areas of high amenity value, by so planning the general route of the line in the first place, even if the total mileage is somewhat increased in consequence.

  Avoid smaller areas of high amenity value or scientific interest, by deviation; provided that this can be done without using too many angle towers (i.e. the more massive structures which are used when lines change direction).

  Other things being equal, choose the most direct line, with no sharp changes of direction and thus fewer angle towers.

  Choose hill and tree backgrounds in preference to sky background wherever possible and when the line has to cross a ridge, secure this opaque background as long as possible and cross obliquely when a dip in the ridge provides an opportunity. Where it does not, cross directly, preferably between belts of trees.

  Prefer moderately open valleys with woods, where the apparent height of the towers will be reduced and views of the line will be broken by trees.

  In country which is flat and sparsely planted, keep the higher voltage lines as far as possible independent of smaller lines, converging routes, distribution lines and other masts, wires and cables so as to avoid a concatenation or "wirescape".

  Approach urban areas through industrial zones where they exist and where pleasant residential and recreational land intervenes between the approach line and substation, go carefully into the costs of undergrounding, for lines other than those of the highest voltage.

  The two Scottish grid operators, Scottish & Southern Energy and Scottish Power, have reviewed the applicability of the Holford Rules to Scotland. When this information is available it will be placed in Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9053 by Lewis Macdonald on 28 June 2004, whether it has any plans to publish additional statistics in respect of energy usage and sources and, if so, what the most up-to-date figures are.

Allan Wilson: Statistics on energy usage and sources in Scotland are collected and published by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in its energy trends website. DTI has a programme of work to produce energy statistics at sub-national level wherever practical and where data provided in confidence are not disclosed. As additional statistics become available, the Scottish Executive will publish summary information on the Scottish Executive’s Environment statistics website. The latest gas and electricity data published by the DTI was in December 2003 and the latest renewables and combined heat power figures were published in September 2004.

Environmental Justice

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in establishing an environmental court or an environmental appeals tribunal.

Ross Finnie: Detailed consideration of these matters is on-going but you should be aware that strong action is already taken against those who commit environmental crime. In February 2004 the Lord Advocate announced the establishment of a national network of 17 specialist environmental prosecutors COPFS Press Release NRCO191HH Special Prosecutors for Crimes against Environment  09-02-2004. This will ensure that prosecutors with expertise in environmental law are available throughout the country and will enhance the robust approach to its enforcement. SEPA is also considering methods by which courts can be made more aware of the impact and severity of environmental crimes.

Fireworks

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in reducing the misuse of fireworks.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Fireworks (Scotland) Regulations 2004 came into force on 7 October. These will prohibit the use of fireworks between 11.00 pm and 7.00 am, with exceptions for 5 November, 31 December, Chinese New Year and Diwali when modest extensions are permitted. Local authorities will be able to grant a dispensation from the prohibition in certain circumstances.

  The Fireworks Regulations 2004, which came into force on 7 August 2004, impose restrictions on the possession and noise of fireworks. Among other things, they also introduce, as from 1 January 2005, a licensing scheme for the supply of fireworks outside specified periods. Taken together, these measures will be important in tackling the antisocial use of fireworks.

Fuel Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11345 by Johann Lamont on 18 October 2004, how many households lived in fuel poverty in each of the last five years, broken down by household type and local authority area.

Johann Lamont: According to the Scottish House Condition Survey 1996, 738,000 households lived in fuel poverty which made up approximately 35% of the total population. The Scottish House Condition Survey 2002 showed that 286,000 households lived in fuel poverty, approximately 13% of the total population. The Scottish House Condition Survey is the only source we have for reliably measuring fuel poverty, and it has now moved to annual surveys which will mean it will report more frequently in future.

  For the breakdown of fuel poverty by household type in 2002, please see the answer to question S2W-11345 answered 18 October 2004. all answers to which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  Fuel poverty broken down by local authority area in 2002 was as follows:

  

Local Authority
Number of Fuel Poor Households (000s)
Percentage of Fuel Poor Households


Aberdeen City
8†
8


Aberdeenshire
15†
17


Angus
8†
16


Argyll and Bute
8†
21


Borders
8†
17


Clackmannan
2†
10


Dumfries and Galloway
14†
23


Dundee City
9†
13


East Ayrshire
6†
11


East Dunbartonshire
3†
7


East Lothian
4†
11


East Renfrewshire
4†
11


Edinburgh City
24
12


Falkirk
6†
10


Fife
17†
12


Glasgow City
38
14


Highland
18†
21


Inverclyde
4†
10


Midlothian
2†
7


Moray
8†
21


North Ayrshire
7†
11


North Lanarkshire
13†
10


Orkney
3
31


Perthshire and Kinross
9†
14


Renfrewshire
8†
11


Shetland
2†
25


South Ayrshire
7†
14


South Lanarkshire
14†
11


Stirling
4†
11


West Dunbartonshire
3†
8


West Lothian
4†
6


Western Isles
4
34


Scotland
286
13



  Note: †Indicates an unweighted sample of 30 to 100.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent action has been taken to encourage NHS Argyll and Clyde to work more effectively across boundaries with NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards must be committed to meaningful co-operation with each other and their planning partners in order to deliver high quality, safe and sustainable health and health care services, irrespective of administrative boundaries.

  The Executive has recently been in discussion with NHS Argyll and Clyde and neighbouring boards about the importance of the fullest possible joint planning and working between them to ensure that services for Argyll and Clyde residents are as good as they can be. The Executive will continue to pursue this issue with the relevant NHS boards.

Health

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources have been made available to encourage innovation and new services that can be purchased by direct payments while existing services are maintained.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive funds Direct Payments Scotland. This project promotes direct payments uptake nationally and assists with setting up and supporting local support organisations. Since April 2004, the Executive has also provided some funding to the Supported Personal Assistant Employment Network to assist those who receive direct payments who wish to employ their own staff.

Health

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients with wet age-related macular degeneration have been treated with photodynamic therapy since the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland issued guidance on the matter and how this figure compares with projections made during the national planning exercise.

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have been diagnosed with treatable wet age-related macular degeneration but have not received photodynamic therapy in each year since 1999 and what the reasons were.

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8003 by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 May 2004, what monitoring processes have been put in place to ensure fair and equitable service provision for patients with age-related macular degeneration across Scotland.

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8003 by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 May 2004, what procedures have been put in place in the last 12 months to ensure that patients with suspected wet age-related macular degeneration are fast-tracked to specialists with experience in photodynamic therapy.

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to treat individuals diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration with photodynamic therapy in each of the next three years, broken down by NHS board.

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what regional arrangements are in place to ensure that all patients diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration receive treatment when the NHS board in which the patient resides does not offer the treatment.

Mr Andy Kerr: We are ensuring that photodynamic therapy (PDT) for wet age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is available to all those who need this new therapy regardless of where they live in Scotland. Boards are funded to make this provision in their general allocation made each year. We are currently monitoring the provision of this service and have established a working group which is examining issues such as the optimum patient pathways, appropriate fast track arrangements and costs. The working group will be providing advice to boards on proposed service models. Numbers of patients treated with PDT and those that are diagnosed are not held centrally.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor and report on the implementation of partnership in practice agreements submitted by local authorities.

Rhona Brankin: Implementation is primarily a matter for local authorities, health boards and their planning partners, working in partnership with people with learning disabilities and their families.

  It will be monitored through NHS Quality Improvement Scotland learning disability review visits, the NHS Performance Assessment Framework, and Community Care and learning disability statistical information collected and published by the Scottish Executive Analytical Services Division.

  The Scottish Executive will respond to local authorities and their partners on new Partnership in Practice agreements being completed now for the years 2004-07. All agreements will be publicly available on the Scottish Executive website, with this feedback.

Health

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence from Agenda for Change project and early implementer sites was submitted in respect of the partnership agreement success criteria to support the conclusion of its Health Department and the Department of Health that implementation of Agenda for Change had been a success and that roll-out should commence in December 2004.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Agenda for Change pay system began to be implemented in twelve NHS organisations in England in June 2003. The new pay system has also been subject to testing short of full implementation in four pilot sites in Scotland. Over the last year, the experience of these early implementer (EI) sites and the Scottish pilot sites has been monitored by the UK Health Departments, NHS Trades Unions and managers.

  A report on the conclusions drawn from the experience in the early implementer and pilot sites was presented to the NHS Shadow Staff Council and is available on the SHOW website at:

  www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/paymodernisation/afc.

Individual Learning Accounts

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether individual learning accounts are available to men and women over 65 who are (a) in receipt of pension credit, (b) not in receipt of pension credit and (c) in receipt of pension credit but have an income of less than £15,000 per annum.

Mr Jim Wallace: The new Individual Learning Account scheme(ILA), ILA Scotland, is not yet available. Ministers will decide shortly on the launch timing for the scheme.

  The initial offer will be targeted towards individuals on low income (gross annual earned income of £15,000 or less) or on benefits.

  Pension credit is one of the "passporting" benefits for the targeted offer. Therefore, any individual in receipt of pension credit will be eligible for this offer. Any individual with a gross annual earned income of £15,000 or less, whether in receipt of pension credit or not, will also be eligible for the targeted offer.

  A "universal" ILA Scotland offer, for a range of basic ICT training, will subsequently be rolled out in 2005, available to all people aged 18 or over and ordinarily resident in Scotland.

  There is no upper age limit applicable to either of the ILA Scotland offers.

Individual Learning Accounts

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to roll out a universal individual learning accounts scheme and, if so, when it will do so.

Mr Jim Wallace: The successor Individual Learning Account scheme in Scotland (ILA), ILA Scotland, will be subject to a phased roll out.

  The initial phase will be a targeted offer aimed at non traditional, low-income learners including those on specific benefits. The low-income threshold will be set at an individual income of £15,000 per annum or less. This offer enables the learner to choose their learning from a wide choice of eligible learning. Learners in the targeted offer will be eligible for support up to £200 per year provided they contribute the minimum personal contribution of £10 per learning episode.

  There will also be a universal offer which will be introduced in 2005. This offer will initially be restricted to ICT courses which lead to recognised qualifications or certification up to and including SCQF Level 5 (SVQ Level 2) or equivalent. Learners in the universal offer will be able to access support up to £100 per year in return for their minimum personal contribution of £10 per learning episode.

  The exact launch date of the targeted offer will be decided by ministers shortly and I will make an announcement on the launch of the universal offer in due course.

Justice

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its timetable is for reform of the law of bankruptcy and diligence.

Mr Jim Wallace: Consultation on the draft Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Bill ended on 30 September and the responses are currently being analysed. I can confirm that Scottish ministers fully intend to bring forward legislation in the life time of this Parliament to modernise the laws of personal bankruptcy and diligence in Scotland.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11071 by Cathy Jamieson on 25 October 2004, what the projected cost is for the redevelopment of Parliament House, Edinburgh, at 2004 prices and whether the original timescale for completion remains as scheduled.

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the question S2W-11072 answered on 2 November 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Justice

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases involving driving without insurance proceeded in the (a) Arbroath, (b) Dundee and (c) Stonehaven procurator fiscal office in each of the last three years.

Colin Boyd QC: The numbers of charges for driving without insurance contrary to section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 reported to the Procurators Fiscal at Arbroath, Dundee and Stonehaven in the last three financial years and which resulted in criminal proceedings being instructed are shown in the following table.

  

Procurator Fiscal’s Office
Financial Year 2001-02
Financial Year 2002-03
Financial Year 2003-04


Arbroath
325
334
401


Dundee
1,014
1,291
1,548


Stonehaven
148
158
151

Justice

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is between sentence and commencement of a community service order in (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Aberdeen and (d) Perth.

Cathy Jamieson: The current average waiting period, in calendar days, between sentence and commencement of a community service order is as follows:

  Glasgow, 15 days

  Edinburgh, 22 days

  Aberdeen, 26 days

  Perth,13 days.

  The waiting period will vary over time dependent on the numbers of offenders sentenced by courts to a community service order and the capacity of local schemes.

Livestock

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to prevent the spread of scrapie in sheep.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive in partnership with Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government has been operating the National Scrapie Plan for Great Britain since July 2001. The National Scrapie Plan will comply with new European requirements which come into force on 1 April 2005.

Local Government Expenditure

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it issues to local authorities on road mileage expenses levels for local authority staff.

Tavish Scott: None. Such matters are for local authorities themselves to determine.

Local Government Expenditure

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total road mileage expenses for local authority staff were in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority and employment rank.

Tavish Scott: These figures are not held centrally.

Local Government Expenditure

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the per mile road allowance for local authority staff has been in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority.

Tavish Scott: This information is not held centrally.

Meat Industry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the cost of the Over Thirty Months scheme is per animal; whether that cost is approximately £1,200; what the total cost of the scheme to it was in each of the last two years, and what estimate it has made of the total cost of the scheme in the current year and each of the next two years.

Ross Finnie: In 2003, the average cost per animal under the Over Thirty Months Scheme, as estimated by the Rural Payments Agency, was approximately £510. The Executive makes no contribution to OTMS costs, which are part funded by Defra and the EU.

Meat Industry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what interest has been expressed from overseas about the purchase of Scottish pedigree livestock; whether any assessment has been made of financial benefits that could be derived from the lifting of the ban on live exports, and, if no such assessment has been made, whether there will now be one.

Ross Finnie: There have been no direct approaches made to the Executive regarding the purchase of Scottish pedigree livestock for subsequent export. However, I understand there have been periodic approaches to the industry on this matter. An assessment to determine the financial benefits of lifting the ban in relation to live exports has not been conducted by the Executive and there are no plans to initiate one.

NHS Hospitals

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS Argyll and Clyde patients were treated by NHS Greater Glasgow in each of the last three years, broken down by local health care co-operative and including (a) all day cases and in-patients, (b) elective in-patients, (c) emergency in-patients, (d) day cases and (e) GP outpatient referrals.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is provided in the table:

  

Year Ending
Local Health Care Co-operative (LHCC)
Total In-patient/Day Case Discharges
"Elective" In-patient Discharges
Emergency In-patient Discharges
Day Case Discharges
First Out-patient Appointments


31-Mar-02
Total
22,355
7,670
4,152
8,224
9,672


Argyll and Bute Local Healthcare Co-Operative
3,896
1,913
771
769
1,713


Inverclyde Local Healthcare Co-Operative
2,360
1,046
275
715
631


Levern Valley Local Healthcare Co-Operative
1,145
333
243
434
596


Lomond Primary Care Co-Operative
4,383
1,459
849
1,678
2,508


Paisley Local Healthcare Co-Operative
4,028
1,172
591
1,930
1,441


Renfrew Local Healthcare Co-Operative
2,402
504
695
913
931


West Renfrew Local Healthcare Co-Operative
4,141
1,243
728
1,785
1,852


31-Mar-03
Total
22,131
7,398
3,949
8,796
11,106


Argyll and Bute Local Healthcare Co-Operative
3,725
1,746
699
881
1,786


Inverclyde Local Healthcare Co-Operative
2,404
1,035
270
806
750


Levern Valley Local Healthcare Co-Operative
1,130
316
187
544
662


Lomond Primary Care Co-Operative
4,050
1,351
812
1,548
2,612


Paisley Local Healthcare Co-Operative
4,238
1,218
570
2,123
1,846


Renfrew Local Healthcare Co-Operative
2,400
468
709
958
1,244


West Renfrew Local Healthcare Co-Operative
4,184
1,264
702
1,936
2,206


31-Mar-04
provisional
Total
20,258
6,318
3,176
8,573
10,154


Argyll and Bute Local Healthcare Co-Operative
3,484
1,533
567
948
1,632


Inverclyde Local Healthcare Co-Operative
2,505
954
317
920
631


Levern Valley Local Healthcare Co-Operative
1,074
254
168
546
533


Lomond Primary Care Co-Operative
4,085
1,206
706
1,729
2,256


Paisley Local Healthcare Co-Operative
3,539
991
438
1,763
1,561


Renfrew Local Healthcare Co-Operative
1,584
340
453
586
1,396


West Renfrew Local Healthcare Co-Operative
3,987
1,040
527
2,081
2,145



  Source: SMR00, SMR01.

  Notes:

  1. Any GP practices, at any particular time, may not be a member of an LHCC.

  2. Some Argyll and Clyde residents treated in Greater Glasgow may not belong to an LHCC or, if so, not to an Argyll and Clyde LHCC. Such cases are excluded are from the table.

NHS Hospitals

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients were treated at the Helensburgh Victoria Infirmary in each of the last three years, broken down by specialty.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information is not held centrally in the format requested.

NHS Services

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total spend has been in the last financial year on library services by NHSScotland; what percentage of this was spent on staffing, and what proportion spend on library services was of total NHSScotland spending.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive does not collect the amount spent by NHSScotland on library services and so cannot provide the information that you request.

NHS Services

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total spend has been in the last financial year on ICT by NHSScotland; what percentage of this was spent on staffing, and what proportion spend on ICT was of total NHSScotland spending.

Mr Andy Kerr: The expenditure on additions to IT fixed assets by NHSScotland in the year ended 31 March 2003 was £14 million. This represents 9% of the total gross capital expenditure by NHSScotland for that year. The Scottish Executive does not collect information on the revenue expenditure on ICT by NHSScotland.

NHS Services

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to increase the total spend per year on library services in NHSScotland and how it envisages that such an increase will enhance services for community and primary care staff and patients.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are no plans to specifically increase funds for library services. Funding for library services is met from NHS boards’ unified budgets. Decisions on final budgets for future years have yet to be taken.

NHS Services

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to increase the total spend per year on ICT in NHSScotland and how it envisages that such an increase will enhance services for community and primary care staff and patients.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is for health boards to set the levels of spend on ICT in support of health board eHealth strategies. Central funds are used for national systems such as the national screening and child health systems and generally in support of the national eHealth Strategy. Decisions about future years spend have yet to be made but any increases will seek to obtain benefits such as improvements in clinical decision support, patient safety, patient involvement and time taken to exchange information.

NHS Services

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure equitable access to library services and ICT for all NHSScotland staff in the next five years, in light of changes to the staffing for acute services.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive is committed to providing a national supporting infrastructure to enable more effective delivery of knowledge support tailored to NHS needs in the local context. Responsibility for implementation rests with NHS Education Scotland.

  NHS Education Scotland’s national strategy for NHS Scotland Knowledge Services, Exploiting the Power of Knowledge in NHS Scotland: a national strategy, sets out a three year plan for development of the system-wide infrastructure for NHS library and knowledge services. This strategy aims to empower and equip NHS staff with the knowledge they need to meet the challenges of workforce change and development, service modernisation, and implementation of the e-Health programme.

  The primary vehicle for delivery of the knowledge management strategy is the NHS Scotland e-Library http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk, which already offers access to the knowledge base, in the form of journals, books, databases, guidelines and alerting services for the full range of NHS Scotland staff, across all staff groups and geographic locations. Approximately 40,000 NHS Scotland staff have registered to use the e-Library since January 2003, and usage continues to increase.

  The Staff Governance standard incorporated into the NHS Reform Act requires that staff be appropriately trained. Local NHS systems are required to have in place training and development plans for the whole system, and also Personal Development Plans for each individual employee. The necessary resources, including time and funding, should then be put in place and allocated to ensure that local training and development needs are met.

  The performance of each NHS system in respect of their compliance with the Staff Governance Standard is assessed by auditors annually and included in the Accountability Review Process to be chaired by the Minister for Health and Community Care.

NHS Services

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure access to library services and ICT for patients using NHSScotland services in the next five years, in light of changes to the staffing for acute services.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has no plans of this nature which are related to any changes in staffing to acute services. There are, however, a number of initiatives which are underway or planned which will improve information available to patients. Work is underway to make corporately available information accessible to all, including patients. Work is also being done to ensure that such information is shared across health board boundaries through ICT. We are exploring through the e-Health project how NHS 24 and others may expand online services. NHS Education for Scotland continues to support ICT and library services within the NHS.

NHS Staff

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any research has been, or is planned to be, carried out on the impact of any reductions in support staff in NHSScotland, including library, ICT, medical records and secretarial staff, on patient safety, the quality of patient care and treatment and on clinical staff morale and retention.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has not carried out any such research and currently there are no plans to do so.

Pension Funds

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to the implications for public authority pension funds of the inclusion of new admissions and transfers employed by PPP and housing stock transfer schemes.

Tavish Scott: There are no implications as the Regulations governing the Local Government Pension Scheme already provide for issues relating to the inclusion of new admissions, either as a result of Public Private Partnership outsourcing of work to private contractors, or following transfers of housing stock to housing associations. In the former case, the Regulations governing the Local Government Pension Scheme require the contractor to provide an indemnity or bond so that in the event of the contract being prematurely terminated, e.g., if the contractor became insolvent, the fund is protected from having to pick up any unfunded costs.

  In the case of an admission agreement between the pension fund and a housing association, if the association were to cease to exist, any unfunded pensions liabilities remaining would pass to its successor body, not to the local government fund.

Pension Funds

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to safeguard public authority pension funds if an employer cannot provide a guarantor to underwrite their current liability.

Tavish Scott: Responsibility for the management of the local government pension funds lies with the fund administering authorities, who administer the funds in accordance with the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 1998. The regulations provide that the administering authorities may enter into admission agreements with certain types of body and in certain circumstances.

  Essentially, there are three possible scenarios for admission agreements.

  Where there is a transfer of undertakings, with the work being outsourced to the private sector, the authority may decide, following a risk assessment by the fund’s actuary, that it is necessary for the contractor to provide a bond or indemnity to protect the fund in the event of the contractor becoming insolvent.

  Where an admission agreement is with a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), no risk attaches to the fund itself because, if the body ceases to exist, the pensions liabilities would fall to the successor body. Administering authorities would not normally require a guarantor in the case of an NDPB.

  Where a body which is neither a private contractor nor an NDPB applies for admission to a fund, the administering authority may decide to ask the body to provide a guarantor before entering into an admission agreement with it. The fund actuary would then determine an appropriate level of employer contribution. The administering authority may agree to the admission of such a body without a guarantor, but in that situation the actuary it is likely to set an employer contribution rate substantially in excess of that for a body with a guarantor, to reflect the increased risk to the fund. It is a matter for the administering authority, taking into account advice from the fund actuary, to decide whether or not to accept a request for admission where there is no guarantor, or to insist that the body provides a guarantor.

Planning

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is required of local authorities in monitoring the impact of planning decisions on town centres under sections 90 and 91 of National Planning Policy Guideline - Town Centres and Retailing - Planning Policy Series: NPPG 8 Revised 1998.

Johann Lamont: National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 8: Town Centres and Retailing recognises that retailing policies and proposals in development plans should be based on a factual assessment of retail development and trends, and emphasises the importance of up-to-date, accurate and comprehensive information.

  It is for local authorities to interpret the guidance contained in NPPG 8.

Public Defence Solicitors' Office

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10886 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 October 2004, what rights the Public Defence Solicitors Office has to represent or take action on behalf of accused persons appearing from custody; whether any changes have been made to these rights and, if so, what those changes were, and whether any further changes are proposed.

Cathy Jamieson: Public Defence Solicitors have the same rights as any other solicitor so long as the accused person qualifies for criminal legal aid. No changes in these rights are proposed.

Public Sector Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount was paid by each of its non-departmental public bodies to employment agencies for the supply of temporary staff in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information is not held centrally.

  Employment of staff is an operational matter for individual NDPBs to consider.

Public Sector Staff

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in relocating public sector jobs to Dumfries and Galloway.

Tavish Scott: We have made good progress. I am pleased to announce that we will relocate the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) to Dumfries.

  The NHSCR, part of the General Register Office for Scotland, has the core function of maintaining and operating a register of NHS patients in Scotland. It comprises a team of 17 staff and is a vital component to the smooth running of the NHS in Scotland. It will relocate to Dumfries in the spring of 2005.

  The Executive are committed to our relocation policy and to ensuring it is a policy for the whole of Scotland. This small unit relocation represents a significant step forward in the Executive’s programme for moving public sector job opportunities across Scotland.

Rail Network

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether British Airports Authority will be expected to contribute towards the cost of new rail links to Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.

Nicol Stephen: Detailed funding arrangements for the airport rail links have yet to be agreed, but private sector contributions will clearly be considered.

Rape

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints of rape were dismissed as false, rather than inconclusive, in each of the last five years and how many false complainers were subsequently charged.

Elish Angiolini QC: Allegations of rape which are reported to the Procurator Fiscal will be prosecuted where there is sufficient credible and reliable evidence to prove that a rape has been committed and where it is in the public interest to prosecute. Where the evidence does not meet those criteria no proceedings will be taken. If the evidence fails to meet the requisite standard it does not necessarily follow that the allegation was false.

  Similarly, where a male accused of rape is acquitted at trial it is not possible to draw an inference in relation to the veracity of the allegation. In Scots law the deliberations of a jury are entirely confidential and, as such, it is not possible to know the basis on which any verdict of acquittal has been reached.

  Where there is corroborated evidence to suggest that a false allegation of rape has been made the police will report the facts and circumstances to the Procurator Fiscal. Where it is in the public interest to do so such cases will be prosecuted as attempts to pervert the course of justice. While our current method of collating statistics in relation to offences records the number of charges of attempt to pervert the course of justice prosecuted, more detailed information on the facts and circumstances of those cases is not readily available in the format required and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Renewable Energy

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to implement the recommendations of the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland’s marine energy group report.

Mr Jim Wallace: The report, which was published in July, contains recommendations for action by industry, the support agencies, and academia as well as by Government. All recommendations are currently being assessed. We hope to be able to make the first announcements about implementation before the end of the year.

Scottish Executive Finance

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Table 0.01 of Building a Better Scotland Spending Proposals 2005-2008, what the Total Managed Expenditure was broken down also into the budgets for (a) Justice, (b) the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, (c) Education and Young People, (d) Tourism, Culture and Sport, (e) Health and Community Care, (f) the Food Standards Agency, (g) Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, (h) Communities, (i) Transport, (j) Environment and Rural Development, (k) Finance and Public Services, (l) the capital modernisation fund, (m) administration, (n) the Scottish Parliament and Audit Scotland and (o) the contingency fund in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01, (iii) 2001-02, (iv) 2002-03 and (v) 2003-04, expressed also in real terms at 1999-2000 prices.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information for 2002-03 and 2003-04 is given in the Draft Budget 2005-06 , copies of which are available in the Parliament’s reference centre (Bib. number 34133) or the Scottish Executive web-site www.scotland.gov.uk . Prior to 2002-03, budget/expenditure data was classified on a cash rather than a resource basis so, directly comparable figures are not available. However, the Comparative Trend Data 1996-97 to 2005-06 dataset recently published on the Scottish Executive web-site provides Departments’ expenditure figures for the earlier years. Copies are available at www.scotland.gov.uk . The following GDP deflators can be used to calculate figures in real terms at 1999-2000 prices:

  

Year
GDP Deflator


1999-00
100.000


2000-01
101.161


2001-02
103.735


2002-03
107.227


2003-04
110.216


2004-05
112.760


2005-06
115.602


2006-07
118.701


2007-08
121.907

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff are involved in the procurement of capital projects.

Mr Tom McCabe: The number of major capital projects (defined as project involving acquisition of asset with estimated value of at least £5 million) is variable, the number of Executive staff working on each project varies considerably and some staff may work on more than one project at any given time.

  At this point in time, we estimate that there are currently 95 Executive staff involved in the procurement of capital projects.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the data used to support the statement by the Minister for Finance and Public Services, that the professionalism of its procurement staff has increased, in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10412).

Mr Tom McCabe: In April 1998, 16 staff, equating to approximately 50% of the Executive’s procurement division, were either full members of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS), or partially qualified. Currently the number of staff who are either members of CIPS, or partially qualified is 26, which represents 93% of the procurement functions staff within the Scottish Procurement Directorate. The CIPS is an institute incorporated by Royal Charter and is recognised by both the private and public sectors as the leading UK and international professional Institute for procurement professionals.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to make ministerial involvement a prerequisite in key procurement decisions, as referred to by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10409).

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used to determine whether there should be ministerial involvement in a procurement exercise.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the comments made by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10412), what instructions it has issued regarding the submission of reports to the responsible minister if a gateway review finds that a project is in difficulty and, if no such instructions have been issued, what the target date is for their issue.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the comments made by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10412), what guidance it has issued in relation to the requirement that advice on procurement options for future capital projects and their associated risks is submitted to the relevant minister for approval and, if no such guidance has been issued, what the target date is for its issue.

Mr Tom McCabe: Officials are currently working on proposals regarding the approach to be adopted towards procurement strategies and plan to issue guidance on this shortly.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which bodies funded by it are not required to involve ministers in key procurement decisions.

Mr Tom McCabe: It is the responsibility of chief executives and boards of individual agencies and non-departmental public bodies to decide whether, in its case, ministerial involvement is appropriate in key procurement decisions.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any amendment to HM Treasury guidance on the use of construction management since July 1999 and, if so, whether it will place any relevant documents in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Mr Tom McCabe: Revised guidance on procurement and contract strategies was issued by HM Treasury’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in 2003. While it does not explicitly refer to construction management, it emphasises the need for risks to be identified and investigated, as such the revised guidance would tend to suggest that construction management should be used with caution.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what projects currently being procured by it or other relevant bodies are defined as "major projects", as referred to by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10412).

Mr Tom McCabe: At present, the Scottish Executive has approximately 32 major projects (defined as project with estimated value of at least £5 million) at various stages of the procurement process.

  Information on PPP projects in Scotland, including those that are currently being procured, is available on the Scottish Executive Financial Partnerships Unit’s website at www.scotland.gov.uk/ppp on the project list.

  Information relating to the procurement activities of other bodies is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued on the conduct of gateway reviews in relation to major projects, as referred to by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10412).

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive has established the Centre of Expertise, part of the Scottish Procurement Directorate, which delivers a programme of Gateway Review training for officials, including Senior Civil Servants. Information on the conduct of Gateway Reviews is also available electronically, and guidance is included in the Construction Client Pack, which is published on the Executive’s website. The Gateway Review process was first introduced by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), which has assisted the Executive in developing Gateway Reviews in Scotland. OGC’s guidance on Gateway Reviews is published on its website at:

  http://www.ogc.gov.uk/index.asp?id=377.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements it has introduced in procurement professionalism, capacity and practice since 1999, as referred to by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10412).

Mr Tom McCabe: We have formed the Scottish Procurement Directorate, combining sources of advice and guidance on goods/services and works procurement. Within the directorate we now have a policy branch which provides specialist advice and guidance on EU public procurement rules. The Directorate has attended European Commission official-level meetings on public procurement, and has regular dialogue at a UK level on common UK procurement policy issues. The number of procurement function staff who are members of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply has been increasing for several years, due in no small measure to the introduction, five years ago, of in-house training provided by Glasgow College of Commerce. We have also published the Construction Client Pack, offering comprehensive guidance on works related procurement matters.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring arrangements are in place to assess the success of any changes it has introduced in procurement professionalism, capacity and practice since 1999, as referred to by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10412).

Mr Tom McCabe: Key performance indicators for the procurement function are recorded value for money (VFM) savings and customer satisfaction feedback reports (completed by the client for every project). VFM savings consistently exceed direct procurement costs and over 90% of customer feedback reports record client satisfaction with the function’s work. Another measure of the success of these changes is that, since devolution, no complaint regarding compliance with EU procurement rules obligations has been upheld regarding a procurement overseen by procurement function staff. Gateway Reviews will also help assess the quality of procurement activity.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the comments made by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10414), which qualifications are recognised by it as professional qualifications in procurement.

Mr Tom McCabe: In referring to professional procurement qualifications, the Executive is referring to professional membership of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS), foundation level membership of CIPS and to the Certificate of Competence in Purchasing and Supply (equivalent to CIPS Foundation level membership). The CIPS is an Institute incorporated by Royal Charter and is recognised by both the private and public sectors as the leading UK and international professional Institute for procurement professionals.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued any supplementary guidance to officials on the use of construction management since July 1999 and, if so, whether it will place such guidance in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, with reference to the comments made by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10412), it will place a copy of its construction client pack and any associated materials in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive’s guidance on construction procurement strategies, including construction management is set out in the Construction Client Pack which is available on the Executive’s website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning-Building/construction/Client-Pack .

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the comments made by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in the debate on the Holyrood Inquiry Report on 22 September 2004 ( Official Report col. 10412), what criteria it will use to determine whether the use of construction management is appropriate for future capital projects.

Mr Tom McCabe: Officials are currently working on revised guidance on how to determine the appropriateness of various procurement routes and to underline the associated risks. The Scottish Public Finance Manual and the Construction Client Pack will be amended shortly.

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid to its staff under the essential car users scheme in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not operate an essential car users scheme. The total amount paid to individuals who claimed the motor mileage rate for travelling on official business using their own vehicle is set out in the following table:

  

1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


£896,100
£827,791
£704,074
£948,707
£1,085,248

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total mileage claimed by its staff under the essential car users scheme was in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not operate an essential car users scheme. Individuals are permitted to use their own car for official business journeys where it is the most efficient and economical method of travelling. The total number of miles claimed by individuals for travel on official business journeys is set out in the following table:

  

1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


2,489,167
2,122,540
1,760,184
2,371,767
2,713,121

Speech and Language Therapists

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken centrally to ensure rigorous implementation of Health Department guidance related to the job evaluation process, in particular with regard to taking adequate and informed evidence from staff and/or their managers, in light of experience reported by speech and language therapists in West Lothian and other early implementer sites in England.

Mr Andy Kerr: Agenda for Change is a new UK level pay and conditions system for non medical NHS staff.

  At UK-level all aspects of the job evaluation process will be monitored by the Job Evaluation Working Party, reporting to the Shadow Executive of the new NHS Staff Council. This monitoring will be supported by CAJE, the new Computer Aided Job Evaluation system.

  In Scotland informed evidence from this system will be gathered by the Pay Modernisation Team for Agenda for Change and reported to the Scottish Pay Reference and Implementation Group, a partnership body set up to advise Scottish ministers on the implementation of Agenda for Change.

Speech and Language Therapists

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the position whereby speech and language therapists have not yet voted to support Agenda for Change and that the speech and language therapist family of profiles is not yet complete, it will issue directions to NHS boards to delay seeking job descriptions for these therapists until these matters are resolved.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Speech and Language Therapists family of job profiles is complete. In common with other Agenda for Change profiles, these have been reviewed and await clearance by the Shadow Executive of the NHS Staff Council. Following clearance they will be re-published in preparation for job matching which will commence in January.

  In light of this, the Scottish Executive will not issue directions to NHS boards to delay seeking job descriptions for any staff.

Speech and Language Therapists

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that the outcomes of Agenda for Change are fair for speech and language therapists and their patients, in light of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ survey which showed that 90% of such therapists would consider leaving the profession if Agenda for Change is rolled out in its current form.

Mr Andy Kerr: The job profiles for speech and language therapists published in December 2003 have been the subject of further review at UK-level along with others from Allied Health Professionals. The reviewed profiles have been seen by the Society of Speech and Language Therapists and their comments taken on board. The resultant improved profiles are now awaiting clearance by the Shadow Executive, a UK national partnership group charged with developing the Agenda for Change  proposals.

  In Scotland information on job evaluation outcomes for Speech and Language Therapists, as for all staff covered by Agenda for Change, will be monitored by the Pay Modernisation Team for Agenda for Change and reported to the Scottish Pay Reference and Implementation Group, a partnership body set up to advise Scottish ministers on the implementation of Agenda for Change.

Speech and Language Therapists

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the maximum acceptable level of pay protection for speech and language therapists will be as a result of the implementation of Agenda for Change.

Mr Andy Kerr: The levels of staff protection under Agenda for Change will not be fully known until the job matching and evaluation processes are complete.

  Under the original Agenda for Change partnership agreement, published in March 2003, the aim was that protection rates should remain within the agreed overall national forecast of 8% of staff requiring formal protection. This was an overall target, not one for individual staff groups.

  On 1 September 2004, the Minister for Health and Community Care wrote to the Scottish Pay Reference and Implementation Group (SPRIG) asking that it carry out work aimed at clearly establishing the levels of protection in Scotland and consider actions which would tackle any remaining significant rates of protection in a way which addresses the negative effect on staff earnings. SPRIG is currently working on a response to this request.

Speech and Language Therapists

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken centrally to ensure that recruitment to new speech and language therapist posts is not adversely affected, in light of the anticipated number of such therapists on pay protection as a result of Agenda for Change.

Mr Andy Kerr: The levels of staff protection under Agenda for Change will not be fully known until the job matching and evaluation processes are complete.

  On 1 September 2004, the Minister for Health and Community Care wrote to the Scottish Pay Reference and Implementation Group (SPRIG) asking that it carry out work aimed at clearly establishing the levels of protection in Scotland and consider actions which would tackle any remaining significant rates of protection in a way which addresses the negative effect on staff earnings. SPRIG is currently working on a response to this request.

  A feature of Agenda for Change is an agreement that where locally there are recruitment and retention problems an addition of up to 30% of basic pay may be made to help overcome this. All requests for the application of recruitment and retention premia in Scotland will require approval from SPRIG.

Sport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of UK Sport’s World Class Performance Management Programme funding has been spent in Scotland in the current financial year and will be spent in the next four financial years, broken down by (a) sport and (b) local authority area.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: UK Sport has no World Class Performance Management Programme but operates a World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) which is aimed at supporting UK-level athletes and UK National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to compete at the highest level in high performance sport. Entry onto the WCPP is based on athletes’ performance and not on a set proportion of representatives from each home country. Athletes are nominated onto the WCPP by their UK NGB.

  As at 31 October 2004, 525 athletes are on the WCPP of which 41 are Scottish (7.8%). Due to the nature of the WCPP, UK Sport is unable to predict how many Scottish athletes will be on it over the next four years. In the current Olympiad (1 April 2001 to 31 March 2005), UK Sport expects to spend £92.4 million on the WCPP. The total estimated spend per sport over that period is set out below. It is not possible to break this down to local authority area.

  

 
No. Athletes
No. (and Percentage) Scottish Athletes
Total Spend


Archery (incl Disability Archery)
8
2 (25%)
£841,620


Athletics
64
4 (6%)
£11,333,748


Bobsleigh#
0
0
£555,720


Badminton*
0
0%
£291,100


Boccia
4
1 (25%)
£253,503


Canoeing
18
1 (6%)
£4,683,745.


Cycling (inc Disability Cycling)
33
3 (9%)
£8,629,887


Disability Athletics
31
3 (10%)
£3,396,568


Disability - Power lifting 
5
0%
£357,243


Disability - Shooting 
3
1 (33%)
£247,604


Disability Swimming
31
6 (19%)
£4,508,731


Disability Table Tennis
8
0%
£390,101


Disability Tennis
8
0%
£472,812


Diving
9
1 (11%)
£1,421,456


Equestrian (incl Disability Equestrian)
25
1 (4%)
£4,411,298


Gymnastics - Artistic
10
0%
£3,695,645


Gymnastics - Sports Acrobatics**
15
0%
£1,760,603


Judo (incl Disability Judo)
18
2 (11%)
£4,135,710


Modern Pentathlon
11
1 (9%)
£2,045,263


Orienteering**
1
0%
£542,477


Rhythmic Gymnastics
1
0%
£124,584


Rowing
57
1 (2)%
£10,607,208


Sailing (inc Disability Sailing)
40
1 (3%)
£7,578,600


Skeleton
2
0%
£469,133


Skiing
3
2 (67%)
£559,862


Snowboarding
2
1 (50%)
£264,310


Speed Skating
4
0%
£800,211


Swimming
48
8 (17%)
£6,525,785


Taekwondo
6
0%
£568,271


Target Shooting
8
0%
£1,484,007


Trampolining
5
0%
£363,006


Triathlon
16
2 (13%)
£2,623,233


Water skiing**#
 
 
£1,095,708


Weightlifting
1
0%
£55,450


Wheelchair Basketball
18
0%
£1,849,521


Wheelchair Fencing
 
0%
£124,513


Wheelchair Rugby
12
0%
£527,210


British Olympic Association
-
-
£1,981,788


British Paralympic Association
-
-
£800,000


Total
525
41 (7.8)
£92,395,208



  Notes:

  *Home Country based sport.

  **Non-Olympic UK Sports.

  #No longer supporting athletes – previously supported in the past.

Students

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage overseas students to stay in Scotland after graduation.

Mr Tom McCabe: From summer 2005 students from outside the European economic area (EEA) who graduate from Scottish institutions will be eligible for a two year visa extension, including the right to work without a work permit (overseas students and graduates from within the EEA are already able to work without a work permit). The new Relocation Advisory Service will be available to offer advice for those wishing to pursue the option of staying in Scotland.

Supermarkets

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage supermarkets to source more products locally.

Ross Finnie: I regularly meet representatives of the multiples to discuss their sourcing policy. I take every opportunity to remind them of the range and quality of Scottish produce and encourage them to source more from Scotland.

Teachers

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it issues to local authorities on road mileage expenses levels for teachers.

Peter Peacock: None. Road mileage expense levels are a matter for local negotiation, as set out in Annex F of the 2001 teachers’ agreement, A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century .

Teachers

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the per mile road allowance for teachers has been in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority.

Peter Peacock: The per mile road allowances for teachers in Scotland for the period 1997 to 2001 are set out below.

  With effect from 1 April 1997, mileage allowances were as follows (as set out in Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee circular SE/147):

  Essential Users

  

Annual Lump Sum
£783


Per mile – first 8,500 miles
34.2p


Per mile – over 8,500 miles
12.7p



  Casual Users

  

Per mile first 1,000 miles
51.9p


Per mile – next 7,500 miles
42.3p


Per mile – over 8,500 miles
12.7p



  Motor Cycle Allowances

  

 
Vehicle Capacity
Not Exceeding 150 cc
Vehicle Capacity
Exceeding 150 cc


First 1,500 miles
15.7p
16.1p


Next 4,000 miles
10.7p
11.0p


Next 5,500 miles
8.1p
8.3p


Over 11,000 miles
3.2p
3.3p



  These rates were in effect until 1 April 1999, when mileage allowances were amended as follows (as set out in Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee circular SE/160):

  Essential Users

  

Annual Lump Sum
£822


Per mile – first 8,500 miles
35.1p


Per mile – over 8,500 miles
12.6p



  Casual Users

  

Per mile first 1000 miles
53.65p


Per mile – next 7,500 miles
43.65p


Per mile – over 8,500 miles
12.6p



  Motor Cycle Allowances

  

 
Vehicle Capacity
Not Exceeding 150 cc
Vehicle Capacity
Exceeding 150 cc


First 1,500 miles
16.0p
16.4p


Next 4,000 miles
10.9p
11.2p


Next 5,500 miles
8.3p
8.5p


Over 11,000 miles
3.1p
3.4p



  The 2001 teachers’ agreement A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century devolved decision-making on mileage allowances for teachers to Local Negotiating Committees for Teachers (LNCTs). We do not hold any information centrally on rates agreed at a local level.

Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to amend section 39(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 in respect of local authority powers regarding enforcement orders for breaches of planning controls.

Johann Lamont: Section 39(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 gives planning authorities the power to decline to determine applications for planning permission if, within the previous two years the development proposal was subject to refusal of planning permission by the Scottish ministers and in the opinion of the planning authority there has been no significant change since that refusal.

  As part of our work on modernising the planning system, we will consider whether this section needs to be amended in the context of a future planning bill.

Voluntary Sector

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will involve Scotland in the Year of the Volunteer 2005.

Malcolm Chisholm: Ministers are currently considering how to involve Scotland in this initiative.

Voluntary Sector

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Project Scotland relates to the work of the Russell Commission.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Russell Commission has been asked to consider the work done by Julia Ogilvy, chair of Project Scotland, on youth volunteering, in developing its proposals. It is intended that the Russell Commission will produce a framework for volunteering which should be applicable across the UK, whilst taking into account the devolved nature of volunteering programmes. As such, the broader work of the commission may influence the implementation of Project Scotland in the long term.